Digital BW, The Print

re: For Della On Shadows

Mike,

If you really believe that canned shadows cause
compression then it is an indication of your scan
quality. I once had shadow compression. Then I
switched to professional scans from a Screen drum
scanner and now a Hell drum scanner. Mike, you owe
your work this favor of using a drum scan made by a
scanner operator.

How do I know this? Because what you call "canned
profiles" is an indication of your input failure. The
Cone profiles print lighter at 99% than they do at
100% which is full black. 98% is still lighter than
99% and so forth. Each % tone is separate and distinct
so that there can be no compression. It can not be any
other way. Please try a drum scan made by a
professional. It makes it so much difference. If you
do not believe this, you owe it to yourself to make a
test pattern of 100 grays to verify it. You will love
the difference that a scan can make.

But if you have professional scans than something may
be wrong with the way you treat your shadows in your
imagework. Did you follow the calibration instructions
from the manual?

your friend,

-della



> Della,
> 
> In regard to your comments to Steadman you are
entirely correct. Most
> printers feel that they must have a pure blacka nd a
pure white to have a
> fine or successful print. This just is not the case.
A full range of tones
> will look richer and render more detail in the
image.
> 
> My biggest concern is that "Piezography" is only a
driver and there are
> other alternatives that one can use obtain similar
results. All that Cone is
> doing is providing canned curves and profiles. The
same can be accomplished
> using RIPs, curves, and I would assume other
methods.  I alos think that the
> Piezography driver compresses the shadows to give
the appearance of better
> blacks.
> 
> Personally I also agree with Paul Roark when he says
that the black
> advantage of silver disappears once the print is
under glass.
> 
> BTW, Paul you are also correct in that platinum
blacks do not reach the
> density of silver blacks. The big difference is that
the platinum print
> gives the viewer the feeling of depth. This is
because the matallic
> particles are not only found on the surface of the
print, but are also
> imbedded into the paper fibers.
> 
> Mike
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "della ellingson" <dellaellingson@...>
> To: "bw"
<digitalblackandwhitetheprint@yahoogroups.com>
> Sent: Saturday, March 23, 2002 12:07 PM
> Subject: [Digital BW] re: For Della On Shadows
> 
> 
>> Steadman,
>> 
>> Is this bias being pleased by the medium or
restricted
>> by the medium? Photo could not give us shadows
which
>> we wished for. It gave us black where nature did
not.
>> We exaggerated it then, did we not? We exaggerated
it
>> to have some control over it. I was once a very
>> black&white printer. Then I found PiezographyBW and
>> now I would characterize myself has a wide tone
>> printer. When I shoot I see that black and white
>> seldom exist in nature. Film is able to produce
this.
>> Darkroom paper can not.
>> 
>> Many will argue these points and explain with
>> misconception that the zone system permits control
>> over the shadow and highlight. But the zone system
>> only allows manipulation of that which is just not
>> quite black and just not quite white. PiezographyBW
>> software allows much greater control within these
>> confines. The black and the white are pushed much
>> further apart. But how many printers actually have
>> sensitivity to this? How many desire this? Most are
>> still desiring a deeper black and a whiter white!
>> 
>> -della
>> 
>> 
>>> Hello Della,
>>> 
>>> I found your observations of the shadow detail
using
>> Piezo versus silver
>>> prints very interesting.
>>> 
>>> I think what happens is a natural "bias" to the
>> medium which one has
>>> "learned" and lived with for a long time.  The
>> esthetics of a silver printer
>>> are probably indelibly (to use an ink term) marked
>> by a need to have "deep
>>> blacks" and not so much a revel in the revealing
>> shadows.
>>> 
>>> I agree that the Piezo shadow detail can be
>> spectacular...drawing one into a
>>> print in a new way.
>>> 
>>> Thanks for posting your views...I enjoyed reading
>> them.
>>> 
>>> Steadman

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